CAN-SPAM Act Compliance

The CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act) is a U.S. law that sets rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.

Enacted in 2003, the law applies to "any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service."

1. Don't Use False or Misleading Header Information

Your "From," "To," "Reply-To," and routing information must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.

✓ TownSend Solution: Our SPF/DKIM/DMARC wizard ensures your domain is properly verified and your emails are authenticated.

2. Don't Use Deceptive Subject Lines

The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.

✓ Your Responsibility: Ensure your subject lines accurately represent email content.

3. Identify the Message as an Ad

The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement.

✓ TownSend Solution: Our compliance module can automatically add appropriate disclosures to your emails.

4. Tell Recipients Where You're Located

Your message must include your valid physical postal address. This can be your current street address, a post office box registered with the USPS, or a private mailbox registered with a commercial mail receiving agency.

✓ TownSend Solution: Our auto-generated footer includes your business address in every email automatically.

5. Provide a Clear Opt-Out Method

You must give recipients an opt-out method that:

• Is easy to recognize, read, and understand
• Requires only a single action (like clicking a link or replying)
• Is available for at least 30 days after sending
• Doesn't require recipients to pay, provide information beyond email address, or take steps other than visiting a single page

✓ TownSend Solution: Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe link that's hosted on our secure servers and maintained indefinitely.

6. Honor Opt-Out Requests Promptly

Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message. You must honor a recipient's opt-out request within 10 business days.

✓ TownSend Solution: Unsubscribes are processed immediately and added to your global suppression list automatically.

7. Monitor What Others Are Doing on Your Behalf

Even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can't contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law. Both the company whose product is promoted and the company that sends the message may be held legally responsible.

✓ Your Responsibility: Monitor campaigns and ensure compliance even when using TownSend's infrastructure.

Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $50,120. Additional fines can be assessed for:

• Deceptive subject lines
• Harvesting email addresses or generating them through dictionary attacks
• Using scripts or other automated ways to register for multiple email accounts
• Relaying emails through a computer or network without permission (spamming)

Criminal penalties including imprisonment are possible for egregious violations.

Beyond using TownSend's compliance tools, follow these best practices:

• Only email people who have given you explicit permission
• Keep detailed records of how you obtained email addresses
• Make it easy for people to unsubscribe from every email
• Use accurate "From" names and subject lines
• Include your valid physical postal address in every email
• Honor unsubscribe requests immediately (within 10 business days)
• Monitor your email metrics for signs of list quality issues
• Never purchase or rent email lists
• Regularly clean your email lists to remove inactive addresses
• Respect quiet hours and reasonable sending frequencies

For more information about CAN-SPAM compliance:

• FTC CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business
• FTC Business Center: CAN-SPAM Resources